Handling a Tornado
by WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: When Ava goes to work it's up to Sara to take care of their three-year-old tornado of a daughter, and vice versa. So how do you keep an over-energized little girl occupied for a long period of time? Neither Sara nor Ava have the answer to that question yet. A cute fluffy Avalance KidFic.
1. Sara handles the Tornado

A/N: Hi guys! I wasn't supposed to be writing fanfiction, but man did episode 4 get me going! I'm sorry but Ava and Sara taking care of kids was the best thing ever, so much character and relationship development! And it got me back to writing Avalance KidFic. I started small - read only 2 chapters of 3500 words each - but I'm working on something bigger now, and it's going to be awesome, trust me! I'll be posting part 2 of this story tomorrow, so keep an eye out! I hope you'll enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 1**  
Sara handles the Tornado

Ava slid her dark blue jacket on hurriedly. She was running a bit late for her meeting.

"Don't forget about the laundry," she instructed. "And if you have time and pick up the clothes from..."

"the dry cleaner, I know," Sara continued.

She was standing against the kitchen doorway, her arms crossed. Between them, Lena was seating on the wooden parquet, her mother's briefcase in her hands. She was playing with one of the locks, closing and opening it repeatedly. Ava pulled her long hair out of her collar and leaned down, to pick up both the bag and her daughter.

"Don't play with that, honey, you'll pinch your fingers."

She placed a kiss on the girl's head and the three-year-old giggled. She put her back on the ground.

"I should be home after lunch unless the meeting runs late."

"We'll be there when you get home," Sara assured with a smile, before planting a kiss on her wife's lips.

"Happy work, mommy!" Lena declared excitedly.

Ava mettled a little at her daughter's words. She could have stayed there watching the little girl smile at her all day, but she remembered she had a meeting.

"I'll be home soon. Love you."

"Love you too!" Sara replied as Ava ran out the door.

Once the door was closed, Sara turned to her daughter.

"Alright, what do you want to do today?"

"Er... I want to draw!" Lena declared.

"Hum, feeling artistic today, aren't we?"

Sara picked up the little girl with ease.

"Alright, drawing it is."

She carried Lena to the living room, but her smile fell when she saw how much of a mess it was. Lena's toys were cluttering the coffee table and shelves. A few plushes occupied the couch. Clothes were left hanging on the back of the sofa.

"On second thought, I think mommy was right. I think laundry is a priority."

She placed Lena down on the sofa and turned on the TV.

"Can you stay put for ten minutes? Mama's gonna clean up a bit, but then we can do some drawings. How about that?"

Sara put on one of the children's network and Lena nodded, her gaze glued to the TV screen.

"We're good? Alright, I'll be right back."

She picked up the clothes in the living room and ran out to her and Ava's bedroom.

* * *

Ten minutes later, as promised, Sara returned to the living room, the dirty laundry having been dealt with.

"Who's ready to draw some awesome drawings?"

She stopped behind the couch and found it empty. The TV was still blearing some cartoon – she didn't know which one – but Lena was nowhere to be seen. She sighed. Ten minutes was quite enough time for Lena to rick havoc around the house.

"Lena? Sweetheart? Where are you?" she called.

Light giggle responded. Oh great, she was playing hide and seek again. Sara should have expected it. Lena had been in her hide and seek period for a while, wanting to play it at least twenty times a day. The good news was, Lena hadn't understood how to play yet, so she always hid in the same spot, the closet in her parents' bedroom. The irony wasn't lost on Sara.

The bad news was, apparently, Lena had gotten her hands on the crayons, and she'd started drawing everywhere on the parquet. Sara sighed. As expected, the trail of small doodles led to the bedroom. Crayons had been left on the way as if Lena had been trying to carry them all at first but realized she couldn't, so she dropped them as she went.

Sara went to the kitchen and picked up the special sponge Ray had made for this special occasion. Lena had drawn on just about every surface in this house at this point. A single swipe was enough to erase all of Lena's drawings. Thankfully ten minutes wasn't enough to make anything elaborate. No real harm was done in erasing this mess.

"Lena? What did we say about drawing on the ground?"

No answer. The drawings stopped at her bedroom's entrance. Sara left the sponge there, just in case. The door of her closet was ajar, which she knew for sure Ava would not have left open.

"Lena?"

More giggles. She opened the door. Lena was sitting there, under a bunch of jackets.

"You found me!"

Sara sighed.

"Yes, I found you. I also found a small trail of doodles leading straight to you."

Lena suddenly stopped giggling, which Sara realized worried her more than it should.

"Oh no!" the little girl gasped.

"What? What's going on?"

"I'm a bad ninja!" Lena let out, her smile turning to a frown.

Sara knelt in front of her daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. I was a bad ninja too when I was your age."

"But you become better!" Lena added excitedly.

"Yes, I did. I became better."

"I'll be a better ninja too, then."

The three-year-old, once again confident in her ability to play hide and seek, hugged her mother quickly. Sara hugged her back, but when Lena began to push her away she pulled her closer.

"Mama, I can't breathe!"

"Yes, you can. See, you can talk. If you can talk you can breathe."

"Mama!"

"Alright. Fine."

She let the little girl go. Lena quickly asked, her blue eyes shining happily:

"Can we make drawings now?"

Sara stood up.

"Well, we could have made drawings, but you've already made quite a few in the living room..."

Lena began to pout, and she did the puppy eyes thing, the one Ava swore was exactly like Sara's and Sara swore she didn't do, but neither of them could resist.

"Fine. Half an hour."

"Yeah!" Lena jumped up happily and ran out of her parents' bedroom and into the living room. Sara followed with a smile.

* * *

They spent exactly half an hour sitting around the coffee table, with sheets of papers and crayons scattered around them. Lena was going through pieces of paper with haste as if she needed to fill them all before the end of the time she'd been allowed. Sara had been doodling little things here and there on a single sheet of paper. Cats and bear cubs and birds. She wasn't much of an artist anyway.

Sara looked at the clock on the wall and put her black crayon down.

"Alright, time's up. We've got to go to the dry cleaner to pick up mommy's power suits."

Lena looked up at her and pouted. She was doing the puppy eyes again.

"Please, mama? Just a bit more?"

Sara looked at the table, covered with her daughter's drawings.

"How much more time do you really need, baby? You've already drawn on every single piece of paper we have!"

The little blonde held out her hand, her tiny fingers spread out.

"Five, mama."

"Five more minutes? Alright, but just to finish your drawing. Don't start a new one," she warned.

Lena nodded vigorously, making her tiny ponytail jump up and down. Sara smiled and checked her phone while her daughter started coloring her drawing frantically once more. The sound of the crayon running quickly on the piece of paper intrigued Sara. She looked up from her phone and asked:

"What are you drawing, baby?"

Lena gave a few more strokes before rising the paper for her mother could see. A stick man was holding what looked like a gun with big strokes of red coming from it and submerging a bunch of other stick figures.

"It's uncle Mick. See? He's using his supergun and putting everything on fire!"

Sara's brain went blank for a second. Should she compliment her daughter on her drawing or reprimand her for drawing a man dowsing another one in flames. Good Parenting 101 never talked about that sort of things. This was why Mick had been banned from babysitting Lena, along with Charlie. Or the both of them at the same time.

"Hum... and what about this one?" Sara asked, randomly picking up one of the papers on the table.

Lena instantly forgot her first drawing and quickly explained:

"It's mommy fighting the mean money man!"

Sara gave the drawing another look. Indeed, there was a stick figure which vaguely resembled Ava, with her long blond hair and navy blue suit, punching a monster with red angry eyes and made of what seemed to be dollar bills.

"Oh wow. It really is. I think we're going to frame this one, don't you think? Give it to mommy so she puts it on her desk."

"Can we?" Lena asked, her blue eyes shining.

"Of course. But we have to go out if we want to find a frame. So why don't you go get dress while I clean up this mess, hum?"

Lena nodded and quickly ran to her bedroom. Sara began picking up all of her daughter's drawings, to make a neat pile of them. There was one of Ray, flying in his Atom suit, one of Nate – his skin was colored gray – one of Charlie punching someone, one of Zari with her totem necklace. One of her too, hitting people with her staff. She'd just found the one with her and Ava holding hands, with Lena between them, when she heard Lena calling:

"Mama! I'm stuck!"

Sara stood up with a smile. She walked in her daughter's bedroom, only to find the little girl struggling to get her tee-shirt past her head. Lena was pulling on the pink shirt with stars on it, without having undone the button at the back of the neck first. Sara couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's predicament. The three-year-old huffed and whined:

"Mama! Help!"

Sara let out one last laugh and stood above her daughter, to undo the button.

"Here you go."

As soon as the button was undone, Lena forced the shirt passed her head. Her blond hair was all mussed up on the other side. Sara kneeled down and helped her daughter fit her arms through the sleeves.

"And done."

Lena smiled, brushing a few loose strands away from her eyes. Sara sat down on the tiny bed and pulled her daughter towards her.

"Come here. Your hair is a mess."

Lena giggled as Sara undid the ponytail. Lena's hair was soft and long, well past her shoulders by now. She somehow had the uncanny ability to always mess up her hair, even when it was tied up. Sara combed through her daughter's hair with her fingers, trying to sort them out.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what mama?"

"Maybe it's time we take you to the hairdresser."

"What did I do, mama?" Lena asked again.

"Well, you... turned your hair into a mess. You're a real tornado, aren't you?"

Lena gasped.

"Is it my superpower?"

"I guess it is."

Lena's eyes were sparkling happily.

"I have a superpower!"

She tried running away but Sara wasn't done tying her hair, and she held her back.

"Hey! Hey! Calm down!"

Lena fidgeted to get away. Sara finished tying the elastic band, and as soon as she let her go Lena ran out of the room screaming:

"I'm a tornado!"

Sara sighed. Yep, she was a tornado alright.

* * *

It took another ten minutes for Sara to calm the little blonde enough to put her shoes, scarf, woolen hat and jacket on. Lena now looked like a little berry, with her thick purple jacket around her and the little green pompom on top of her head. Once she was ready, it took another few minutes for Sara to convince Lena to leave Mr. Rabbit home. Sara almost caved in, but then she remembered Ava would probably kill her if she heard Sara had let Lena take her plush outside. In the end, she convinced Lena that Mr. Rabbit had to stay home to keep an eye on the house. Lena finally agreed and they could be on their way.

The dry cleaner was just a short walk from their apartment. It wouldn't have been a problem if Sara had been alone. However, she was with a three-year-old, and the way to the dry cleaner was full of opportunities:

"Oh, mama! The park! I want to make a sandcastle!"

Lena pointed excitedly at the entrance of the park, pulling on Sara's hand.

"No honey, not today."

"Please mama!"

"You don't even have your tools right now. We'll go tomorrow, okay?"

Lena nodded. Sara continued to pull her daughter away from the park, slowly but surely. She inwardly sighed. One crisis averted, many more to go.

* * *

To her surprise, Lena behaved herself rather well during the rest of the trip. She didn't even ask to go to the toy store. Instead, she asked about the coming Christmas:

"Mama, how does Santa Claus know if I was nice?"

"Well, he can see everyone everywhere, all the time, so he knows when people are good and when they are bad."

Lena was silent for a moment, her thin eyebrows furrowed. Finally, she asked:

"Like Gideon?"

"Hum... Yeah, you could say that," Sara replied in a chuckle.

"Does Gideon knows Santa Claus?"

Sara laughed again.

"Why don't you ask her next time?"

Lena nodded, determined. Sara could see the dry cleaner just a few shops away. Almost there.

"Mama! Mochi!"

Lena suddenly pulled her mother toward the Japanese restaurant. Sara sighed. She'd forgotten about the last trial before the dry cleaner. The mochis. Nate had introduced them to Lena one afternoon while he was babysitting her. It could have been the end of it if the Japanese restaurant right next to the dry cleaner didn't sell some, something Lena never seemed to forget.

"Lena..."

"Please, mama, I want mochis! The pink one! Look!"

Sara sighed. They were so close to the end. Sara took her phone out of her pocket. Almost 11 a. m.

"How about this: we can get mochis for dessert, but you'll have to eat your lunch first, okay?"

Lena smiled brightly at her mother.

"Yes, mama!"

"Even if it's avocado."

Lena seemed to consider it for a moment. Her smile faltered.

"But I don't want avocado."

"Well, then you won't have mochis."

"No!"

"So, will you eat your avocado?"

Finally, she nodded.

"Yes."

Sara smiled. And Good Parenting 101 dared to say bargaining wasn't a solution!

They walked into the shop and stopped at the counter, where a smiling cashier welcomed them.

"Hello! How can I help you today?"

"Hi. Can we order now and then come pick it up in a few minutes?"

"Of course. What would you like to order?"

"Mochis!" Lena shouted from the bottom of the counter.

This made the cashier giggle.

"Pink mochis, yes. And something with avocado," Sara reminded her daughter.

Lena grimaced but didn't protest. Sara ordered for three, thinking Ava would probably return straight from work without stopping for lunch like she usually did. Once she'd paid, the cashier told her she would get her order ready while they were gone. Sara took Lena's hand they went back to the task at hand. The dry cleaner.

As it turned out, Ava had five power suits to pick up, and it took quite some time for the woman at the counter to find them, even though they were basically identical. Sara waited, her arms crossed, while Lena played behind her. She'd found the squared tile floor amusing, and was jumping from one square to another, trying not to touch the lines between the squares, while singing:

"I'm-a-little-tea-pot, short-and-stout, here's-my-han-dle, here's-my-spout, when-I-get-all-stea-med-up-hear-me-shout, just-tip-me-o-ver-and-pour-me-out!"

Sara was grinning without even realizing it. Once all five of Ava's suits were collected and thrown over Sara's shoulder, she took Lena's hand again and led her out.

"Alright, little teapot, let's go home."

"The mochis, mama!"

"After we get the mochis, obviously."

Lena smiled and led her mother back to the Japanese restaurant.

* * *

They made it home in one piece, though between Ava's suits, the bag of takeout and Lena, Sara was filling just a bit overwhelmed. She set the food on the kitchen counter and went to place the clean clothes in her bedroom. When she came back, Lena was seating on the ground, still fully clothed and struggling to get her shoes off her feet.

"Need a hand baby?"

Lena nodded, still pulling on the shoe in her hands. Sara kneeled in front of her daughter and began undoing the laces. Once her shoes were off Lena struggled with her jacket, which Sara unzipped for her. Once all of her outdoor gear was off, Lena ran into the kitchen.

"Mochi!"

Sara shook her head.

"Lunch first, baby, okay?"

"But what if I'm not hungry after lunch for mochis!" Lena replied.

"Then we'll keep them for the afternoon snack, okay?"

Lena still wasn't convinced. Just in case, Sara extracted the small plastic box with pink balls inside and placed it in the fridge. Lena pouted.

"But mama!"

"Nahah, we had a deal, Lena. You eat all your lunch, or the mochis will stay in the fridge. That's the deal."

Lena continued to pout. She crossed her arms and tear began running down her cheeks.

"But I want mochis!"

"And you'll get them, but you can't eat only mochis all the time."

Sara took a deep breath. Trying to stay calm when Lena had a tantrum was very difficult.

"So, are you going to eat like a nice girl or are you going to continue to be a bad girl?"

Lena seemed to consider the situation for a moment. She rubbed her sleeves on her cheeks, brushing her tears away.

"I'm a good girl," she replied.

Sara let out the breath she was holding. Usually calling Lena a bad girl would elicit two types of reactions. Either she would calm down and act like a good girl, or she would have a complete meltdown screaming that she wasn't a bad girl. It was a double-edged sword with a fifty percent chance of instantly calming her.  
Sara took her daughter into her arms and hugged her.

"I know you are."

Lena nodded against her mother. Sara assumed she must have been a bit tired and needed a nap, probably. The thought of a nap for herself wasn't so bad either.

"Alright. Do you want to help me set the table?"

Lena's smile had returned.

"Can we get the grown-ups glasses?"

"Sure, why not?"

* * *

Lunch went rather smoothly, in Sara's opinion. Sure, they were eating sushi on the couch and drinking water from tall wine glasses – Lena loved them because they were grown-ups glasses – but at least Lena ate all of the veggies in the sushi, and the fish too, which didn't happen often. She even ate all three mochis, which impressed Sara quite a bit. Very quickly afterward, Lena leaned against her mother and began to yawn.

"I think someone should take a nap."

"No, no naps..." Lena replied as she yawned.

"No, I think a nap is in order."

The little girl was powerless when her mother picked her up as if she weighed nothing and carried her to her bedroom. She barely struggled, resting her head on her mother's shoulder instead. Sara placed her delicately on her bed and tugged her in.

"Mommy should be home when you wake up."

"Yeah..."

Sara smiled and kissed her daughter good nap before leaving the room. She let the door ajar, just in case, and yawned. Yep, a nap for her too wouldn't hurt.


	2. Ava handles the Tornado

**Chapter 2**  
Ava handles the Tornado

Ava would have used her time-courier to go home, but they'd agreed to only use it in case of emergencies. They really didn't want Lena thinking it was okay to teleport any place any time. So she had to take a taxi home like she had to take one to work. This meant she wouldn't be home until almost one in the afternoon. The more time she spent stuck in the back of her cab, the more she thought she really should ask Sara about rethinking that agreement.

She finally made it home, and she unlocked the door. She was quickly surprised by the silence reigning in the apartment. She'd been expecting almost everything expects silence. Lena napping while Sara watched TV. Sara napping while Lena watched TV. Lena throwing a temper tantrum. The two of them playing in the living room. This silence was unsettling.

"Sara?" she called, not too loudly for fear of waking Lena should she'd been asleep.

"Mommy!"

Shortly after, Lena ran out of her bedroom and came crashing against Ava's leg, hugging her fiercely. Ava smiled, quickly picking her daughter up in a proper hug.

"Hello, sweetheart. Where's Mama?"

"She's sleeping," Lena replied once her mother let her go.

"She's taking a nap? Well then let's not wake her up."

Ava took her jacket off and peeked inside her dark bedroom. Sara was indeed sprawled on the bed, sleeping peacefully. Four of five years ago Ava might just have joint her. The morning's meeting had been tiring, headache worthy for sure. But, the little blonde standing beside her, when conscious, had to be watched in all times by an adult, and Ava happened to be the only one around. Slowly, as to not wake Sara up, Ava closed the door and walked toward the living room, Lena in tow.

"What did you do this morning?" she asked.

Lena smiled.

"We made drawings! Look!"

Lena ran to the coffee table and picked up the drawing at the top of the pile. She handed it for Ava to see. Ava sat on the couch and took the drawing in her hands.

"Oh, it's beautiful. What is it?"

"It's you, mommy, with the mean money monster!"

Ava continued to stare at the drawing. Her talents for decoding her daughter's drawings weren't as sharp as Sara's, but after a while, she finally noticed.

"Oh, it is. Good job honey, it's really good."

Lena smiled brightly.

"Mama said we could frame it so you could put it on your desk."

"She did? Well, it's a good idea. If another money monster comes into my office he'll know I'm an expert in handling money monsters."

Lena nodded. It was perfectly logical.

"And what else did you do this morning?"

Lena thought for a second, a tiny crinkle forming between her eyebrows.

"Mochis!"

"You ate mochis?"

Lena nodded.

"Mama said I could eat mochis if I ate all my lunch, and I did, so I had mochis. There's lunch for you too mommy, in the fridge."

Ava considered getting up to pick it up, as her stomach had started rumbling halfway through the meeting, but she knew for a fact Lena wouldn't stay put while she ate, and she didn't want to turn the TV on so as to not wake Sara up.

"Did you work good mommy?" Lena asked, taking Ava out of her thoughts.

"I did, thank you for asking. It means I don't have to go to work tomorrow."

"Mama says we're going to the park tomorrow, so I can make a sandcastle."

"That's a good idea. Maybe we could go to the park right now?"

The idea was to take Lena out of the house so she could unwind there, and be really tired by the end of the day, so she would go to sleep quickly, with the added bonus of not waking Sara up. Lena, however, shook her head.

"We have to wait for Mama. She'll be sad if we go to the park without her," the three-year-old assured.

Sad wouldn't be the word Ava would have used, but she kept that to herself.

"What do you want to do, then?"

"I want to watch Moana."

"Not now, okay? Now we let Mama rest and we make a limited amount of noise."

A musical movie would definitely wake Sara up, especially if Lena was jumping on the couch and singing along. Lena nodded and continued to think of something she could do without waking her mom up. Finally, Ava noticed the book left on the small table beside the couch and asked.

"How about I read you a story?"

"Yeah!" Lena shouted, which made Ava wince slightly.

She glanced at her bedroom door. Nothing. She let out a breath she was holding.

"Do you want to continue this one?" Ava asked as she picked up the book beside the couch.

She looked at the title. Alice in Wonderland. A perfectly appropriate – and very confusion – read for a three-year-old.

"No. I want the book with the big monsters! Like the one Gary reads me!"

Ava sighed. Gary wasn't banned from watching Lena per se, because when Ava was working and Sara was in the middle of a mission, they needed someone to keep an eye on her. He'd only been banned from reading heroic fantasy to her.

"I'm afraid we don't have books with big monsters here. Maybe you could go and pick one up in your bedroom? Chose the one you want?"

Lena stood up and ran to her bedroom, her sock clad feet almost silent on the parquet. Ava looked at the book in her hands once again. Was Alice in Wonderland too boring for kids now? But it was a classic. She only knew classics.

Lena came back running with a book in hand and jumped on her mother's lap. Ava quickly recovered from the sudden weight falling on her, and placed a hand around her daughter's waist, making sure she wouldn't fall off her if she started fidgeting, which she would definitely do.

"What did you pick?"

Lena held out the book proudly. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Maybe she'd talked too soon about classics. Ava took the book in one hand and held it in front of her and Lena, so her daughter could see the pictures. Her other hand stayed secured around her daughter. She opened the book and began reading.

* * *

They were halfway through the book when Sara suddenly burst through her bedroom door, putting a woolen sweater over her head.

"Lena?" She called.

"Here, Mama!"

Sara looked at the couch and saw both Lena and Ava staring at her over the couch. Her frantic motions calmed a bit.

"Oh, you're home."

"We didn't want to wake you. Everything alright?"

"I just got a call from Gideon. I mean, it's probably nothing, but I should check it out, just in case."

Ava nodded.

"Go. I'll keep Lena occupied."

"Good work, Mama!" Lena added.

Sara smiled. She placed a kiss on her daughter's head, then one on her wife's lips.

"I'll be right back. Be a good girl with Mommy, okay?"

"Yes, Mama!"

"Love you!"

"Love you too."

Sara opened a portal and teleported straight onto the Waverider. When she was gone, Lena turned to her mother and asked:

"Can I go with Mama in missions?"

"Hum... no, you're a bit too young for that."

"But I have a superpower!"

"You do?"

"Yes, I'm a tornado! It's what Mama said!"

Ava laughed, though Lena didn't understand why.

"It's true! I'm a tornado!" she replied, visibly irritated by her mother's laughter.

Ava hugged the little blonde.

"Oh, you really are a tornado!"

This seemed to calm Lena down, as she proudly replied:

"I am a tornado."

Ava let her go with a sigh.

"Do you want to continue the book or do you want to watch your movie?"

Lena's eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Moana!"

"That's what I thought."

* * *

Ava ate her lunch with a singing show in front of her, as Lena sang and dance along with the music. She had to stop her from climbing on the coffee table a couple of times, to which Lena protested 'It's a mountain, mommy!'. This was going to tire her for sure, Ava thought. However, when the movie was over, Lena's batteries were far from depleted.

"Again! I want to watch the movie again!"

Ava sighed. She wasn't sure she could take another show, though.

"Don't you want to do something else?"

Lena looked at her mother hopefully, her hair a mess of blonde locks.

"Can we play hide and seek? Please!"

"Sure, why not. Let me just take care of your hair first."

She pulled Lena toward her and undid her ponytail. After combing her fingers through her hair, she tied them again in a bun, sure this time it wouldn't slip.  
"Here you go. Now, who starts by hiding?"

"I do! I'm a real ninja now, you'll see."

"Alright, let's see. Ready?"

Lena nodded, and a thin lock of hair fell out of her bun. Ava sighed. So much for that.

"I'm closing my eyes and I'm starting to count. 1. 2..."

She heard faint running steps away. After counting to ten, she opened her eyes again and stood up from the couch.

"Lena? I hope you're ready!"

She heard giggling coming from her bedroom. Well, at least it wouldn't be long. Ava walked straight into her bedroom and called again:

"Lena? Are you there?"

When more giggling echoed, she had no other choice but to open the closet. It was empty.

"What?"

Lena had finally learned not to hide in the same spot all the time? That was a massive improvement, Ava couldn't help but feel proud. Now though, she had to look more thoroughly around the house. She sighed. If only Sara had been here, she could have helped her. Ava wasn't very good at hide and seek, as much as it pained her to say. She never had the childhood experience for it, and hiding wasn't her general tactic in any given situation. Being impossible to find was Sara's strength, not hers.

"Lena?" she called again.

This time, the giggles at died down. A real ninja. Ava pushed everything out of the way, searching the closet more thoroughly. Nothing. She looked around her room. Where could a smaller than average three-year-old hide? She had no idea. A lot of places, she assumed. She started looking in every piece of furniture, even under the bed, and still she couldn't find anything.

"Lena? Are you in there?"

There was nothing playful about her tone. Suddenly, the idea that Lena had used her time-courier to hide, and that she was somewhere she shouldn't be, sent a jolt of panic through her heart. She looked at her wrist. The watch was still there. Sara had hers. She let out a breath of relief, to let her panic out. Lena was probably still here. She would just have to find her.

* * *

It took a lot more time for her to find Lena then she'd expected. Way too much time, to be accurate. Lena was hiding under her parents' cover, laying on her side. Ava only found her because, in the dead silence of the house, she heard light snoring coming from under the blanket. Lena had fallen asleep while waiting for her mother to find her, which prompted Ava to believe Lena hadn't been as diligent with her nap as she should have been. Ava felt kind of bad for waking her up, but if she let Lena nap now, she would be a real pain to put to bed later.

She placed her hand on Lena's arm and shook her lightly.

"Lena? Wake up, honey. I couldn't find you. You won."

Lena came to consciousness slowly, her blue eyes struggling to open. She squinted and rubbed her head against the mattress. Ava thought she was definitely like Sara when it came to waking up. It took a crane to pull her out of bed.

"Lena?"

"Hum..."

She shook her a bit more, and finally, Lena moved to get up. She stretched a bit and managed to keep her eyes opened for more than a second.  
"You found me..." she declared in a sleepy voice.

"Actually, I couldn't find you. So you won."

"I won?"

"Yes, you won."

Lena smiled. She almost fell back to sleep, but Ava picked her up. Lena curled up against her mother, her arms passing around her neck. Ava rubbed her back slowly, just to try to keep her awake.

"Can we play something else?" Lena asked in a yawn.

"Sure. What do you want to play?"

"I don't know..."

Lena yawned again, resting her head against her mother's shoulder, holding her close.

"Lena, did you nap?"

"Hum?"

"Your nap? You didn't really sleep, did you?"

"No. I didn't want to sleep, so I looked at the pictures in my books."

Ava nodded. She should have expected it.

"Do you want me to read again?"

"No."

She placed Lena on the couch, and Lena rubbed her eyes. Ava looked down at her daughter. Maybe she shouldn't have woken her up. She needed something to wake her up quickly.

"How about something to drink? Do you want some juice?"

Lena nodded, still rubbing her eyes.

"Can I have juice in a grown-ups glass?"

"No, you'll put some all over yourself."

"But Mama let me drink water in a grown-ups glass! I didn't put water all over myself."

"Yes, well, water doesn't stain, honey. But juice does. You don't want to be sticky, do you?"

Lena pouted. Maybe the juice wasn't necessary. Maybe all she needed to wake up was to be denied something. Still better safe than sound.

Ava poured half a glass of apple juice in one of Lena's plastic cups and handed it to her daughter.

"Here you go."

Lena didn't protest and drank the whole thing quickly. She sighed happily and handed the cup back to her mother.

"Better?"

"I'm not sleepy anymore."

"Good. What do you want to do?"

"Can I play with the cards?"

"With the cards?"

"Yeah, like Mama showed me."

Ava thought for a second. Sara had taught their daughter how to play a card game? Which card game? She couldn't remember.

"I don't know how to play cards."

Lena smiled and slid off the couch.

"It's okay, Mommy. I'll show you."

* * *

When Sara returned, she found Ava and Lena seating on either side of the couch, with scattered piles of cards in front of them. She walked through the portal and declared:

"It was nothing, like I said. False alert."

"Mama!"

Lena jumped off the couch, toppling a bunch of cards on her way, and ran up to Sara to hug her. Sara hugged her daughter back, checking whether the portal had closed behind her, just in case the little girl had toppled them both through it once again. She then noticed Ava who was looking at her over the couch, a bunch of cards fanned out in her hands.

"We're playing a game called Find the Queens. Apparently, you're very good at it, or so Lena told me."

"Mommy always wins at Find the Queens."

Sara shrugged.

"It's a bit of a confusing game, okay."

Ava raised a knowing eyebrow. More like a game Sara had invented on the fly to distract Lena.

"Play with us, Mama?"

Sara sighed. She really just wanted to crash on the couch.

"How about this: you give me ten minutes to breathe and then we'll play."

Lena didn't know what it meant, but she nodded nonetheless. Ava picked up all the cards on the couch and piled them up on the very clustered coffee table so Sara could sit down beside her. Sara instantly sank against her wife, her head resting against her shoulder.

"So, false alert?"

"Well, compared to the usual mess we handle, it was nothing."

Ava didn't even have to say. Sara knew she was looking at her with a questioning, piercing look telling her 'I know you're hiding something'.

"It was nothing, really! Just a French King people forgot to behead. We've got it under control, now."

Ava took Sara's hand in hers and decided not to comment. Not in front of Lena anyway. Talking about a beheaded French King in front of your three years old daughter probably broke every Parenting Guidelines in the Book.

"I saw the drawing Lena made of me. I thought it was pretty good."

"I know, right. It's pretty resembling. What even is a mean money monster?"

Ava chuckled.

"That is what happens when you leave her to me at the office when I'm working on the budget allowances. Gary told her I was preparing a fight against a mean money monster. I guess she took it pretty literally."

"What is there not to take literally?"

They fell silent, enjoying each other's closeness for a moment. Finally, Sara declared:

"Lena was afraid Santa Claus wouldn't know she was a good girl this morning."

"Oh, and what did you tell her?"

"That he knew everything, so of course he would know she was a good girl. It's what my dad told me when I was her age. And then, she connected Santa's omniscient knowledge of everyone with Gideon's, and now I think she's convinced Gideon knows Santa Claus."

Ava started laughing, prompting Sara to follow.

"Did you tell Gideon?"

"Not yet. I kind of want to know what she'll reply when Lena asks her in person."

"Please call me when you do. I don't want to miss it."

Sara looked at the coffee table in front of her, full of drawings and toys. She then looked back at Ava, who was still smiling.

"What are we going to do with her?" She asked in a sigh.

"I'm not sure I can legally take her as an intern. Not yet anyway."

Sara chuckled.

"I don't think she'll like a desk job."

"Are we seriously arguing over who gets to mentor our three-year-old right now?"

"I guess we are."

There was suddenly a loud crash coming from Ava's office. They both sat up and quickly looked around. Lena was gone. She'd taken the ten minutes their parents were hugging and talking to disappear. They both sighed longly.

"I'll go get the vacuum cleaner," Sara declared.

"I'll go get the Tornado," Ava agreed.

* * *

A/N: Hi guys! So, what did you think? Like I said, it was just a cute short fluffy story. I've started working on something else now, more in the lines of my first Avalance story 'Lost Generation', which may or may not feature Lena again... Anyway, once again, I hope you enjoyed!


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